Brighter Futures Annual Report 2022-23

The Brighter Futures in Banbury programme

Cherwell Local Strategic Partnership

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A message from Councillor Chapman

My role as Lead Member for Healthy and Safe Communities has a wide-ranging brief, and gives me the opportunity to meet and work with many of the organisations who contribute to improving life for residents in Cherwell. This is an enormously satisfying part of my role, and I’m very pleased that this report gives the opportunity to showcase some of the fantastic work happening in the areas of greatest deprivation in our district.

North Oxfordshire is a leafy, generally prosperous area, but not all residents are lucky enough to enjoy all its advantages. The Brighter Futures in Banbury Partnership exists to increase the opportunities for all residents in the areas of greatest deprivation to benefit from creative, community based initiatives to enable them to lead healthy and safe lives. In this report you will read about projects which have helped residents access green spaces, healthy meals and physical activities.

This year, in particular, the thread which runs through the report is the challenges that the cost-of-living crisis has brought to both residents and the organisations which exist to support them. Just as there are many factors (including the war in Ukraine, the last effects of the Covid pandemic and Brexit, to name some of them), there are many effects on individuals and the organisations working in the Brighter Futures area.

For individuals on low incomes the cost-of living crisis has a huge impact as their household budgets are already stretched to the limits and sometimes no further economies can be made. Colleagues at Citizens Advice have reported that the number of people seeking debt advice from them and who find themselves in a position where their income is not enough to meet their essential outgoings, has risen dramatically.

You will see that the stories in this report show how community organisations have worked to help residents deal with the direct and indirect effects of the cost-of-living crisis. It has been important to provide increased support as actual and perceived food insecurity have increased. Responses have included direct help such as providing warm spaces for residents who struggle to pay their fuel bills, opportunities to eat a nutritious meal or to afford the ingredients to make one at home. This support brings much more than the crucial help with food directly, fighting isolation, helping with mental health issues, helping to create / enhance social environments and activities which help improve wellness.

Many organisations have worked in partnership – for example, Citizens Advice has partnered with the Sunshine Centre and The Hill to provide advice sessions in trusted local venues so that those most in need can access them. A major demonstration of Brighter Futures partnership synergy is at the various open space events, such as the annual Summerfest play day in Princess Diana Park.  On the face of it, these events offer fun, activity and involvement as well as free participation / food for those most in need. Statements like this, though true, don’t capture the joy, fun and positivity of these important events.

I hope that you will feel a sense of positivity when reading the stories in our report, and I would like to thank all the partners and community members who have contributed to it. However, I also need to say that I believe that all the energy and commitment will reduce long term inequality of health outputs, but that shift is built from many layers of sustained incremental steps. There is no ‘magic bullet’, the magic is in the co-ordinated committed passion of the communities and partners.

Background 

Introduction

The Brighter Futures in Banbury Partnership has worked together to improve lives in Banbury for more than 12 years. It brings together partners from a wide range of disciplines; health, education, business, voluntary,community and faith groups, all coming together to find ways to promote the health and wellbeing of residents in the 3 wards of Banbury with greatest levels of deprivation.

The Partnership’s aim is to improve life chances and break the cycle of deprivation through improving health (and its broader determinants) and increasing opportunities for residents in other spheres of their lives. Using an asset based approach to our work[1] means that we look for the strengths and capacity in the community, rather than focussing on what is wrong.

The breadth of experience and expertise within the partnership enables it to look at the full spectrum of activities which this work involves, which can be summarised as strategy, partnership and grassroots activity. In the Brighter Futures Partnership, these do not exist in isolation, but in a cycle where learning is passed between the three areas of work. In this report, we will show examples from each of these areas to illustrate how each contributes to the effective working of the partnership, and how closely they are interlinked.

We encourage our partners to develop and deliver services in a way which makes communities feel part of the process of developing and delivering services, recognising the inherent challenges of such an approach but believieng when done well the benefits have greater reach and impact.

Partners see that demand for interventions is  increasing in both volume and complexity, at a time when they are receiving reduced funding. Working in partnership, with shared objectives, provides  support for organisations and the individuals working in them. The longevity of the partnership means that trust has developed between the partner organisations leaving them well placed to create joint projects and to make combined bids for funding.

An example of how the partnership works in this way is provided by the Safer Streets Programme. First of all strategic collaboration between Cherwell District Council and Thames Valley Police resulted in a funding award from the Home Office.

Partnership working with Cherwell Theatre Company, schools and the strategic partners led to a successful arts programme in schools for young people and grassroots consultation by BYCE uncovered young people’s own concerns about the issues of feeling safe when away from home, resulting in practical actions to address the matters they raised.

Brighter Futures in Banbury - Our themes

• Stronger Communities and Volunteering
• Health, Wellbeing and Physical Activity
• Safer Communities
• Housing
• Economy
• Education and Skills

Members of the partnership bring expertise from a variety of fields. The work of the partnership is co-ordinated according to the themes shown in the image above. The partnership does not allow the themes to act as a constraint, but rather seeks for projects and initiatives where partners can work across the themes. Having these themes brings focus and balance to the work the partnership are undertaking.

Where do we work

We work in the Lower Super Output Areas in Banbury,  The three wards are:

• Banbury Cross and Neithrop
• Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown
• Banbury Ruscote

Strategy

The partnership includes partners who are working at a high strategic level, sometimes participating in national or county wide initiatives. This enriches the partnership through a greater understanding of national policy  issues, as well as being a major factor in bringing funding into the area. The examples of strategic work we will look at in this report are

• Obtaining UKSPF levelling up funding
• Developing ward profiles for each of the wards, in consultation with residents
• Better Lives through Culture
• Oxfordshire Community Safety Partnership and Safer Streets project.

Partnership

The long standing nature of the partnership has allowed high levels of trust to develop between the members. This helps through information sharing, joint project working and an understanding of how the agendas of different organisations overlap. There are many examples of this working in the Brighter Futures area, but in this report we will focus on:

• Events held to support and inform partner organisations about the response to the cost of living crisis
• Coordinating information sharing neighbourhood networks in Grimsbury and North Banbury

The partnership is co-ordinated by a steering group with representatives from:

• Cherwell District Council (including Safer Communities, Wellbeing, Housing, Economic Development, Performance and Insight)
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Sanctuary Housing
• The Sunshine Centre
• Citizens Advice
• Oxfordshire County Council (including Social Care, Public Health)
• Thames Valley Police

The influence and reach of this partnership stretches out to other professionals, organisations and community groups.  

Grassroots

One of the strengths of the partnership is the commitment of a number of community based organisations. Often working on tight budgets and with very little time to spare, representatives from these groups make the effort to contribute to the partnership. Their knowledge of people in the community is what makes the Brighter Futures partnership a listening partnership – genuinely in touch with local people and their dreams and fears. In this report, this side of the partnership is demonstrated by:

• Activity programme at the Hill
• Bridge Street community garden project with Sunrise Multicultural Project food project
• Sunshine Centre programme
• Tailored consultation developed for Safer Streets
• Ward profiling consultation

Our partners

This list is not exhaustive. If you would like more information, or would like to become a partner, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

A guide to Who's who 

• Councillor Phil Chapman, Cherwell District Council. Lead Member for Brighter Futures
• Nicola Riley, Cherwell District Council, Assistant Director: Wellbeing and Housing Services
• Jon Wild, Cherwell District Council, Community Development Manager
• Steven Newman, Cherwell District Council, Employment Theme Lead
• Tim Tarby Donald, Oxford United in the Community, Stronger Communities and Volunteering Theme Lead
• Paul France, Cherwell District Council, Housing Theme Lead
• Charlie Heritage, Sanctuary Housing Group, Housing Theme Lead
• Tom Gubbins, Cherwell District Council, Health, Wellbeing and Physical Activity Theme Lead
• Kate Austin, Oxfordshire County Council, Health, Wellbeing and Physical Activity Theme Lead
• Inspector Iain Roberts, Thames Valley Police, Safer and Stonger Communities Theme Lead 2020/21
• Katey Humphris, Cherwell District Council, Safer Communities Theme Lead 2022/23
• Sharon Graham, Citizens Advice, Stronger Communities and Volunteering Theme Lead
• Kate Winstanley, Independent, Facilitation and strategic support

Contact Brighter Futures in Banbury programme

By telephone: 01295 221980

By email: brighter.futures@cherwell-dc.gov.uk

By post to Bodicote House